False Gods
The TARDIS landed on Tiaanamat with its normal wheezing and groaning sound, and the Doctor and Mandy stood in the Console Room and looked at the external monitors showing scenes of a rich and vibrant amount of life. Although Mandy had seen markets before on Starship UK, she'd never seen one with such bright colours and objects that she couldn't even begin to think were for. She glanced at the Doctor as he made some adjustments to a few controls before giving her a smile and pulling on his bowtie.
"Why don't you go change into some jeans or those cargo trousers before we leave? Don't want you to get some injury because you got a scratch, after all" and Mandy nodded and went to her room to get changed. Today, for a change, the route took her past the library, the swimming pool, the library again and close to the door marked 'ADULT TOYS' which, although sounded interesting, refused to open when she tried it - the TARDIS had pushed her gently back with gusts of wind and warning tones.
"Why are you so grumpy?" muttered the girl and then yelped as she was hit by an icy chill. She went down the corridor and found the door to her room. After closing the door behind her, she crossed to her wardrobe and started to pick clothing from inside. Eventually, Mandy decided on cargo trousers, long socks, boots, a blouse and her school jumper. She picked the jumper on the basis that it could, if the situation called for it, be quickly folded into an emergency pillow. She undressed and stepped into the shower – the TARDIS placing shampoos on a little shelf by her left arm. There was also a selection of body scrubs and gels, most of which she was dubious about, so ended up picking the strawberry scented one. She dried off and got dressed before going back to the Doctor. He'd donned a red hat of sorts and seemed as excited as she was to go looking around. "Aren't you going to change at all?" she asked, eyeing his jacket and trousers.
"But why?" he asked in confusion.
"Well it looks a bit dusty outside and you don't want to get the TARDIS upset with dirty clothes"
"Oh, she's used to it by now" the Doctor replied and picked up a bag lying on the floor of the room. Mandy followed him out of the TARDIS and was instantly hit with sights, sounds and smells of things she'd never dreamed of. As she looked around, a giant human looking fish walked past with a pot of green liquid bubbling on its face.
"Wow" she breathed.
"Wow indeed" the Doctor laughed. He remembered the first time, so many years and lifetimes ago, when he had gone on his first alien planet visitation. "Welcome to the universe, Amanda Tanner" he gestured with his hand in a sweeping measure.
"Can we look around before doing anything else?" she asked.
"Of course, but don't stray too far will you? I want to find out what is going on" and Mandy nodded and went over to the nearest stall and looked at what was on offer. It appeared to sell various fruits and foods which looked harmless, but she decided to come back at a later time with him. She didn't know what might make her sick, and she didn't want that on her first real adventure after all. The next one appeared to be selling fanciful fabric which she liked the look of and so made a note of where it was for later on. "Can you keep this for me, please?" she asked the alien, but there was no reply other than a pointed stare. She was sure the TARDIS should have translated it for her, but perhaps it took a while to scan all the languages and put them into English. She was just examining a set of wooden shelves when she felt something knock into her.
"Sorry!" the words came to her almost at once. Mandy realised the TARDIS must have kicked in anyway and the alien just didn't like her.
"That's alright. Do you need any help? You seem to be in a bit of a hurry"
"I'm hiding"
"From what?"
"People"
"What sort of people?" Mandy looked around for the Doctor – he'd certainly know what to do.
"Who do you think? I'm the Queen of Years" the girl, roughly Mandy's age, replied.
"Don't know who that is, sorry" Mandy replied.
"But everyone knows"
"Well not me – I just got here. I think the Doctor would know all about you, he's so smart really. Come on… I know the perfect place to hide" and she took the other girl's hand in her own and dragged her out of the crowd and towards the TARDIS. "Oh, my name is Mandy… Mandy Tanner"
"Merry – Merry Gejelh" and the two girls raced through the crowds and ended up at the doors to the TARDIS.
"This is where we can hide"
"In a box?"
"It is not just an ordinary box" Mandy said, patting her pockets for her TARDIS key before realising that it was still on her bed. "Excuse me, TARDIS, but do you think you could open the doors please? I need to hide this girl and my key is inside" she asked politely. Merry stared in confusion before the doors opened and Mandy dragged her inside – gasping at the vastness of the space inside.
"Its…"
"Bigger on the inside?" Mandy grinned.
"Yes" Merry said. Mandy walked over to the display and instrument panels and pressed the one switch she was allowed to press so far. The doors closed gently before Mandy looked upwards towards the high ceiling above her.
"Can you call the Doctor and tell him that we have a bit of a problem? I think it is only fair he knows we have somebody else on the ship, after all. So" she added after sitting down on the ramp to the TARDIS, "What exactly are you hiding from?" and Merry hesitated before sitting down beside Mandy.
"I'm the Queen of Years. They chose me when I was a baby the day the last Queen of Years died. I'm the vessel of our history. I know every chronicle, every poem, every legend, every song"
"Every single one? Blimey. I hated history"
"And now I have to sing a song in front of everyone. A special song. I have to sing it to a god. And I'm really scared" Merry looked down at her feet.
"I think I would be if I had to sing in front of loads of people" Mandy admitted. It was at that point that the Doctor came in through the doors to the TARDIS and made his way straight over to the girls.
"I got the message on my psychic paper" he said. "What can I do for you, and who is this?" he asked. Mandy filled him in on what Merry had told her before the Doctor nodded and helped the pair to their feet and led them to the kitchen. After he had settled them down with tea and cake, he set off back to the main room to look up a few things using the TARDIS to tap into the local computers.
#
A few hours later, Merry was back with the people that had been looking for her after they had explained to the Doctor. It was part of their tradition to be the way they had been with Merry, and, assured that was all, the Doctor delivered a much relieved Merry back to them. Mandy and him went back to exploring the local area for a while before they returned and delivered their purchases to their rooms. Mandy had got some nice looking robish looking clothes, some wall hangings, a nice warm orange rug and some general mementos.
"Wow" Mandy breathed as she looked out of the doors to the TARDIS. The Doctor looked up from adjusting some controls and smiled as he came to stand next to her. Outside, orbiting the very large gas planet was a lot of asteroids and tiny moons. As Mandy had watched through the open doors, the asteroids had moved on to reveal a golden pyramid glinting on a rock closer to the sun. "What is it?" she asked.
"The Pyramid of the Rings of Akhaten. It's a holy site for the Sun Singers of Akhat"
"The who of what?" Mandy frowned.
"Seven worlds orbiting the same star. All of them sharing a belief that life in the universe originated here, on that planet"
"All life?"
"In the universe"
"Did it?"
"Well, it's what they believe - It's a nice story" the Doctor gave an awkward shrug. "I've found out over the years, Mandy, that some beliefs are the most powerful things in the universe"
"So Merry has to sing to keep the planet happy?"
"More or less. This sort of reminds me of home actually"
"Home?"
"It was beautiful, Mandy. It really was beautiful. They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the Continent of Wild Endeavour, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords - the oldest and most mighty race in the universe. Looking down on the galaxies below, sworn never to interfere but only to watch"
"What happened?" asked Mandy. The Doctor took a few moments to answer before sighing to himself.
"The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song" he smiled in sad remembrance. "Nothing I can do now about it. Now then… I guess you're interested in the celebration"
"Can we watch?" she asked.
"I don't see why not" the Doctor conceded. "Got time for our tea before getting seats" and the pair went to the kitchen to see what the TARDIS had planned for their meal. It turned out to be Chicken Kiev with chips, garden peas and plenty of slices of bread and butter with mugs of tea to wash it down with. Afterwards, the Doctor said they had time for their own thing before going, so Mandy went back to her room and did some school work. She wanted to prove to the Doctor that she was a good girl and worked hard at her schooling, fragmented as it was. Some days she could be doing mathematics and the following day be doing science. At the moment, she was reading all about the stories of Charles Dickens and answering some questions from a text book the Doctor had found in the library which, for some reason she couldn't understand, was holding a garden party for the tennis court. She could only assume that it was the TARDIS herself having a laugh at her. When the Doctor said that it was nearly time for the ceremony to begin, the girl looked through her clothing to see what was suitable for what, she decided, was really the same as going to Church. Ending up inclined towards the black dress and black shoes, she quickly gave her hair a brush like Martha had shown her before putting on the clothes and hurrying to the Control Room. The Doctor was, unsurprisingly, wearing either the same clothes as earlier or a clean set – though Mandy spotted he was wearing a more dark red bowtie which she assumed was his version of dressing up for a fancy event. He'd already mentioned to her that he didn't believe in a God, Goddess or any other sort of religion, so she guessed this was his attempt to respect the local traditions.
#
"We were lucky to get tickets in the front row" said Mandy as they took their seats nice to a giant rhino-man and a person that had a glass screen instead of a head.
"Well we didn't actually pay for it" said the Doctor carefully.
"You mean we stole them?"
"Well there are no such things as tickets to be got" he replied.
"Oh, so its free entry to everybody that wants to come in?"
"Exactly" the Time Lord smiled and glanced through the leaflet he had been given. Mandy also had one which was written in perfect English, but the Doctor told her the translation circuits on the TARDIS also worked for written language if you really tried hard. As they watched, Merry came out into the arena and looked at the people sat waiting – catching sight of the Doctor and Mandy and giving them a smile before steeling herself to the task ahead and turning to face the pyramid.
"Akhaten… Lay down, my king. Sleep now eternal. Sleep, my precious king… Lay down Oh, god of Akhaaaten..." Mandy looked around as most of the attendees started to murmur along to the words.
"What are they doing?" she asked.
"They're singing to the AKHATEN in the Temple. They call it the Old God. Sometimes Grandfather" a slight flash of pain and hurt crossed his face.
"Oh, god of Akhaaaten..." Merry continued her song.
"What are they singing?" Mandy asked, looking around the arena at the vast spectacle.
"The Long Song. A lullaby without end. To feed the old god. Keep him asleep. It's been going for millions of years. Chorister handing over to Chorister. Generation after generation after generation" he waved a hand the air in a sort of respect to the dedication.
"Akhaten..." Merry, Mandy thought, was a very good singer. She tried to think of anybody better, but could only think of the way the Doctor had spoken to her without the translation circuits. As Merry kept singing, the rest of the people there raised their hands with objects contained inside.
"What are they doing?" she asked.
"Those are offerings. Gifts of value. Mementoes to feed the Old God" the Doctor explained to her.
"Oh, god of... Oh, god of... Oh god of Akhaaaten...Sleep, my precious king" the Doctor gently spoke the words as he read the leaflet. "Lay... Lay down... Akhaaaten... Oh, god of... Oh, god of... Oh, god of... Oh, god of Akhaten" and as Merry sang on, there was a sudden rumbling that seemed to cross the distance of the pyramid as a beam of gold energy shot out and enveloped the girl. She gave a short scream and turned round to face the watchers. "Help me!" she said, locking eyes with Mandy and then getting pulled off her feet and drawn towards the golden pyramid.
"We've got to do something" said Mandy, but nobody seemed all that interested in doing anything. She looked to see the Doctor with a barely suppressed rage inside him, then hurried to scramble over people and beings as he darted away at the double. "Why are we walking away? We've got to help her!" she called as he opened the TARDIS doors.
"We're going to help her, Mandy, don't you worry. Then, after we've saved Merry, we're going to put an end to this stupidity" he said. "There is no excuse, I should have seen it earlier…" he raced around the console pushing buttons, moving levers and flicking switches.
"Seen what?"
"The leaflet says that there is a final sacrifice made by the Queen of Years. Except, Mandy, what it actually means is that the Queen of Years herself is the sacrifice. No religion has the right to make a demand of that from a girl – certainly not one as young and frightened as Merry is and was" he growled.
"So what are we going to do?"
"First of all, we're going to find out if there is a way inside that pyramid. I'd bet whatever took Merry is located inside there. I hope to Gallifrey that I am very much mistaken"
"Why?"
"In most religons, a sacrifice of a girl involved them doing things to her before they took her life"
"What sort of things? You mean like beat her up…?"
"I wish it was only that" the Doctor replied sadly, throwing a lever and sending the TARDIS into flight. "I'll explain when you are a little older. You might want to change out of that stuff" he added. "There might" he added with a ghost of a smile, "Be an awful lot of running around to be done"
#
When Mandy came back wearing the same clothes she had worn to go shopping in, the doors to the TARDIS were open and the Doctor was outside scanning a heavy stone door with his sonic screwdriver.
"Ah, Mandy… I'm having trouble opening this door"
"What is it? Something technical and spacey?"
"Oh, that's interesting. A frequency modulated acoustic lock. The key changes ten million, zillion, squillion times a second" the Doctor replied.
"Can you open it?" Mandy asked as there was a lot of rumbling on the pyramid's asteroid.
"Technically, no. In reality, also no. But still...let's give it a stab. A wise man once taught me the belief in not believing in the 'No Win' scenario" he said, and adjusted the settings before trying again. After a few minutes of trying, the Doctor gave a cry of triumph as the door carefully rose up and allowed them to see inside. In the pyramid was Merry, a man kneeling and chanting and a giant glass case containing a mummy slightly taller than the Doctor himself.
"Merry!" Mandy cried and ran inside and grabbed the girl's arm.
"Mandy?" Merry frowned. "You've got to go – you'll wake the Old God" she said.
"I think that's already happening" the Doctor said dryly. The door suddenly started to fall down again and he was forced to use the sonic to keep it open. "Hello there. I'm the Doctor. And you've met Mandy. She was supposed to be having a nice day out. Still, it's early yet. Are you coming, then? Did I mention that the door is immensely heavy?"
"But what about the Old God?" Merry asked.
"That is not a God" the Doctor said. "Also, this door is rather heavy, so I'd appreciate it a lot if you'd get out of there"
"You!" Merry shook off Mandy, "You said it would be alright – you both did!"
"In my many lifetimes, I have said and done many things – lying is not one of them" the Doctor said. He rolled into the inside of the pyramid and grabbed the sonic before it was crushed by the door falling shoot.
"You do realise that we needed that door open to get back out?" Mandy said.
"Yeah"
"Is there another way out?"
"Of course. Should be. Most likely. Probably. I think so. Normally is" and Mandy shook her head as she looked around the room. The Mummy sat in the large glass case seemed to be coming alive as it glowed with red eyes. Mandy had never met a God before, but she was fairly sure they didn't have evil looking red eyes! "Oi! Songs over mate… Old God is waking up – its over" and the chanting man stood and looked at the three of them.
"The song has ended – the Long Song has ended with me" he said, then reached for a bracelet and pushed a button. A wall of shimmering blue and white light encased him and he vanished from their sight – leaving not a trace.
"Is he dead?" asked Mandy.
"Not entirely sure" said the Doctor. "Anyway, we've got more important things to do right now… Like trying to get past this"
"Get past the Old God?" Merry asked dubiously.
"Not entirely sure this is the Old God, Grandfather or whatever you want to call it" the Doctor raced around the glass scanning it with his sonic and then looking at it before repeating the same thing. "Ah! Yes, well that would explain it, I suppose…"
"What?" asked Mandy and Merry together.
"When you are asleep, what do you use to get awake?"
"The TARDIS?"
"Alarm clock" said Merry.
"Right. Bright girl, Merry" the Doctor laughed. "Now then… This old pile of dust and rags… Sorry, buddy" he said in an aside to the growling mummy that was pounding the glass and causing it to shatter badly, "Is nothing more than the alarm clock to wake up the Akhaten"
"That still doesn't solve how we get out of here" Mandy said.
"There is another passage, but there is nothing down it but a heavy door. I have no idea what is behind it. Doctor? Mandy?"
"Yes?" they said at once.
"I'm scared"
"Good for you. Being scared means you are afraid and looking for the smallest bit of hope. Hope is the best thing that you could ever want to have in a crisis" the Doctor babbled. "Or" he grinned, pulling out a small key, "A Type 40 TT TARDIS" and the sound of the TARDIS's engines filled the chamber and it soon appeared.
"Why couldn't you have done that earlier?"
"Fun?"
"Is he always this mad?" asked Merry.
"Seems so" Mandy replied.
"Heard that" the Doctor said. "Now, you two get inside and press the large green button on the fifth panel"
"Okay" and Mandy and Merry rushed in, did as they was asked and were surprised when the doors closed and the engines kicked in.
#
The Doctor watched as the TARDIS took Mandy and Merry to safety before turning back to the Mummy that had broken through the glass.
"I want to speak to your boss. Show me Akhaten, if he exists" and the Mum paused, turned into dust and then the back wall dropped down to reveal the gas planet that now had the rough shape of a face. "I guess you will be my 'God' then?" he said. "Well, now this… I do not appreciate the fact that you put an innocent girl in danger to satisfy your supposed 'needs'. I do not like the fact that you have killed so many people over the years for your 'religion'. I do not care that you put my dau- somebody I care for deeply in any sort of danger" the Doctor stared at the planet. "Know this… I will end you" and suddenly the ground under him started to tremble and split as the planet got angry.
#
"What are we going to do?" Merry asked as the engines of the TARDIS powered down.
"I'm going back for him" Mandy said, trying to push buttons to start them back up again. Whenever she did so, however, everything was too hot to the touch as if the TARDIS herself was stopping her from going back. Mandy knew that the TARDIS either thought that the Doctor was in no serious danger, or that it had been given orders to stop Mandy from risking her own life for him. "Okay, new plan…"
"The Old God might still listen to me" Merry said. "I can try to put it to sleep again"
"I don't think that will work"
"Oh… Well the Old God feeds on memories and stories and souls, so lets sing together and think of every memory we can. I bet it will be so full it'll blow up"
"Not a fan of the blowing up bit" Mandy grinned as she opened the doors and stepped outside. Everyone from the ceremony was still in their seats as if not knowing what to do after Merry had been taken. "What are you going to sing? I don't think a blast of 'Walking On Sunshine" is going to work"
"I don't know that one" Merry frowned at her friend. "What I do know, however, is the fact the Doctor saved us – so now it is up to me to save him" she took a deep breath to steady her nerves, stood on the raised podium and then began to sing. "Rest now… My warrior" she sang the tune slowly and hauntingly before she took another breath and began to overcome her fears and sing with growing strength and confidence. To her surprise, Mandy heard the rest of the people in the nearby area start to pick up the words and sing along. Over the course of a few minutes, the planet seemed to be in agony as it twisted and contracted and shrunk smaller and smaller. However, almost all watching got the impression it was not over – that something was missing. Mandy suddenly knew what it was and hurried back inside the TARDIS.
"I need to get to the Doctor" she implored the machine.
Whooooosh the TARDIS replied – sending cold air at her legs.
"The Doctor is in trouble and might need our help. I have to go and save him like he saved me" she said.
Vhooooooosh
"Please…! I know you are trying to protect me, but the Doctor might be injured and not very well" but the TARDIS sent more cold air towards her. "If you don't help me, I'll… I'll… I'll put sugar in your fuel tank" and she got a musical tones that sounded as if the TARDIS was laughing in bemusement at her antics. As she began to cry, the doors closed and the engines kicked into life. Mandy looked at the displays which changed from the Doctor's native tongue to English.
Emergency Override of Protocol
Mission: saving the Doctor
Reason: do not want sugar in my fuel tank
Mandy just giggled and wiped her tears away as they completed the short flight. She opened the doors to see the Doctor on his knees – utterly exhausted and ready to pass out. Whatever had happened to him, the girl knew, would have killed her as surely as the sun and the moon rising.
"OI! You!" she shouted at the planet. "Yes you, you big bully! You leave my friend alone or else I will come and beat you up" but she was not sure how to beat up a gas planet if it was, in fact, possible. The weakened planet-being sent golden tendrils towards Mandy which struck her in her chest and eliciting a gasp as each one hit. The Doctor tried to protest, but he could barely kneel and stay awake from whatever had happened to him. Mandy was sure that it had fed on his soul and she suddenly grew worried that coming here was a bad thing. Then, with a deep breath, she stepped forward in front of the Doctor. "You want emotions? You want stories? I have them and loads more! I have lost my family twice over, I have lost my friends, I have lost my home and I will not ever lose the Doctor. Take whatever you want – I hope it chokes you" and the planet-being emitted a loud screaming noise before contracting to a much smaller size and dying – leaving a normal planet behind.
"Mandy?" the girl turned to see the Doctor looking weakly up at her. "Why did you come back?" he asked.
"Because Martha told me that sometimes even you needed a bit of help" the girl replied. She walked the few steps to the Time Lord and held out her hand to help him up.
"You threatened the TARDIS, didn't you?"
"Yes" Mandy admitted. "But I think it enjoyed the threat, though" she added.
"The TARDIS normally does" the Time Lord said. Standing on the other side of the space behind the ruined temple was the old and faithful Police Box, its lights warm and welcoming to the pair of them. "I think we could both do with a nice cup of tea after that" and he held her hand in his own and smiled down at her own tired but beaming and proud face.
"Doctor?"
"Yes, Mandy?"
"Let's go home"
A/N:
Okay, yes, I know the episode didn't go this way, but what I say goes! Not much really to say other then I hope you like the chapter and will review it.
One thing I will say though I the fact that Mandy, if you look carefully at certain points, is beginning to think a bit like the Doctor in terms of decisions.
Anyway – I hope you will review the story if you've enjoyed it. If you have a problem with it, then also review and I will try to read your problems and all that…
Pixel and Stephanie